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CHAPTER 1 Basic Blues Theory

If you want to learn how to play jazz, one of the best places to begin is with the blues.
There are several reasons for this.
First of all, the basic Blues form is one of the simplest in all of jazz.
Second, the basic Blues form is extremely widespread. There are hundreds of commonly
played jazz pieces based on the Blues structure, and it also is central to most other forms of
contemporary music.So when you learn how to improvise on the Blues,you are dealing with
something familiar and you learn something that will be of continuing value.
Finally,the basic Blues form is extremely flexible, with many variations, and it is a form to
which you will return throughout your development as an improviser. Rather than leaving
the Blues behind as you get more sophisticated, you bring the Blues along with you on your
path of development.

Getting Started
EXERCISE #1
Let's start with a fairly simple Blues at a relaxed tempo, the"First Step Blues."Readthrough
the melody a few times at a comfortable tempo. Then listen carefully to how the melody is
first two choruses).
played on the saxophone track
Finally, try to play the melody along with the rhythm section by turning off the saxophone track on the left channel. Try imitating the swing feel and the quarter-note articulation from the saxophone track.

CDTrack #19 has both Bb and A tuning notes, if you need them.
[Note for horn players:In the Bb version of this book, some exercises will fit better with the
range of the trumpet and some with the range of the saxophone. Please adjust the octaves
for yourself, if necessary.]

Dan Greenblatt

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After the melody, the rhythm section continues to play the Blues form for several choruses,and then the saxophone comes back in with the melody at the end. That middle section, with the rhythm section playing the Blues form, is your chance to do some improvising.
But the big question is,"What notes should I use to improvise with?" The most common
answer is "use the Blues Scale" in the key of the tune. In the key of Bb, it looks like this:

Blues Scale

bu
1

&0

qo
4

I)

IJC)

I)

IJC)

&0
4

bu
1

The"Blues Scale"provides the beginning improviser with several things of value. For one,
it greatly simplifies the problem of playing on the chord changes. You simply stay on the
same scale throughout your solo, and ignore the changes. Moreover, the "Blues Scale" has a
familiar,"down-home" sound, so you can capture a "blue" mood almost without effort.

Problems with the "Blues Scale"

There is a major problem with this typical advice, however, which is that aspiring improvisers using this approach almost always sound bad. There are two main reasons for this.
First of all, the "Blues Scale" is missing too many important notes. This makes it a very
limited vehicle, unable to carry the variety of phrases and moods that allow you to create
contrasts and develop a story-like improvisation.The biggest missing note in this scale is the
major 3rd,and also missing are the 2nd and 6th notes of the major scale.So the common sixnote "Blues Scale" effectively handcuffs you, paints you into a corner. The effort to simplify
ends up oversimplifying.
The second reason that "Blues Scale" solos generally sound bad is that they contain no
motion, no harmonic movement. Almost all jazz involves "playing the changes," where your
improvisation reflects the harmonic motion of the song. Exclusive use of the "Blues Scale"
provides a fundamentally static approach to a fundamentally dynamic art form.
The vast majority of beginning improvisers, however, are not ready to absorb the complex system of chords and scales that evolved jazz musicians use. So the puzzle becomes
one of developing an approach that is simple, but not too simple, which retains the advantages of the "Blues Scale"without missing the other good notes, and which gets you playing
changes without requiring you to digest the entire system of Western Harmony.

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5

There are Two "Blues Scales!"

The solution to the puzzle is that there are really two basic Blues Scales that are commonly used by jazz improvisers, rather than one single scale. One is the Blues Scale we already looked at. Because of its b3rd, this scale has a decidedly minor sound, so from now on
we will refer to it as the"Minor Blues Scale."
Minor Blues Scale

&u

&0
4

qo

#4

I,n

lu.

lu.
4

&0 &u
1

(#4)

The second Blues Scale has a decidedly major sound because of the inclusion of the
major 3rd (even though it also contains the minor 3rd as well). We will call this scale the
"Major Blues Scale." In the key of Bb,it looks like this:

Major Blues Scale

&u
1

-e2

&0 qo

&0

-e2

&u
1

Practicing the Scales

EXERCISE #2
First you need to thoroughly learn and memorize the notes in these two scales, including the whole range from the lowest to the highest notes you can play on your instrument.
As one method of really learning the scales inside-and-out, we encourage you to compose
scalar exercises that both rehearse the scale notes and simultaneously have a satisfying melodic contour. For example, try this one-and-a-half octave version of the Bb Major Blues Scale:

EXERCISE #3
Here is a sample way to practice the Bb Minor Blues Scale,again with a line that has some
melodic interest:

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